Marc Denis was sent down to Hamilton of the AHL after Saturday night's game.

Denis wouldn't have received much ice time playing behind Jan Halak and Carey Price. Denis was once a starting NHL goalie so if an injury were to occur to Halak or Price Denis would be fully capable of stepping in to fill the void. Sat, Oct 4, 2008 11:02:00 PM

Marc Denis was sent down to Hamilton of the AHL after Saturday night's game.

Denis wouldn't have received much ice time playing behind Jan Halak and Carey Price. Denis was once a starting NHL goalie so if an injury were to occur to Halak or Price Denis would be fully capable of stepping in to fill the void.

While Denis' signing raised some eyebrows, Canadiens GM said that backup goalie Jaroslav Halak's position with the club remains the same. Denis will compete for a job with the big club, but was brought mostly for organizational depth.

The netminder signed a one-year, two-way contract with the club on Thursday. Denis was bought out by the Lightning after appearing in just 10 games in the 2007-08 season. He will likely see most of his action in the minors.

The Lightning will buy out the remainder of Denis' contract if and when he passes through waivers on Wednesday. Denis will become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday. He has one year remaining on his contract at $1.5 million and the Lightning will take a cap hit over two years of approximately $1.45 million per year as he signed a three-year/$8.6 million contract in July 2006.

The Lightning are receiving some interest in Denis from around the NHL, especially if he returns on re-entry waivers which will allow any NHL team to pick him up at half his contract with the Lightning picking up the rest. "He needs to play and hopefully he performs real well and as I told him, we'll give him every opportunity to get back to the NHL in the context of re-entry waivers," GM Jay Feaster said. "At $1.4 million this year and $1.5 million next year, that's a very reasonable contract for an NHL goaltender so if he can get back on top of his game, then I think he stands a real good opportunity to have somebody show interest in him." Stay tuned.

Marc Denis has cleared waivers and has been reassigned to Norfolk of the AHL.

With a salary of $5.8 million due for the next two seasons it wasn't a surprised that no teams were interested in Denis. This move probably helps reinforce the backing of Karri Ramo for the starting gig in Tampa.

He has become the odd-man out in Tampa with the recent call-up of Karri Ramo. If he is not claimed by noon on Saturday, he will likely report to Norfolk of the AHL. With a salary of $2.8 million due this season and $3 million due next year, he is unlikely to be claimed by anyone.

Marc Denis stood on his head in order to preserve a 3-2 shootout win for his Lightning over the Canadiens.

Denis stopped 28 of 30 shots in regulation and overtime, including three huge saves in OT, before absolutely robbing Saku Koivu on Montreal's last shootout attempt to secure the win. Denis was finally able to record his first win of the season and improve upon the ghastly numbers he carried into this contest: 0-4-0, .853 save percentage and a 4.32 GAA.

Depth Charts

David Desharnais scored his 13th goal of the season during Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to Nashville.

Desharnais was the beneficiary of PA Parenteau and Max Pacioretty's hard work as Desharnais simply had to tap it in, giving the Canadiens a brief 2-1 lead. He now has 43 points in 74 games this season.

Tomas Plekanec tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Canadiens to a 2-0 win against the Sharks on Saturday night.

Plekanec has rewarded those who took a chance on him later in drafts. He had become more of a 20-goal, 45-point guy in recent seasons. Now, though he has 22 goals and 52 points, numbers that have kept him in the starting lineups in fantasy leagues throughout the season. Brendan Gallagher got the other goal, via the empty net.

Lars Eller scored a goal and an assist in Saturday's 3-1 win over the New York Islanders.

Eller registered the only assist on Max Pacioretty's shorthanded goal in the second period, and he finished things off by scoring into an empty net in the final minute of play. The 25-year-old hasn't produced as much as some would hope this year, but he have four points in his last four games. Eller has 11 goals and 21 points in 64 games this season.

Manny Malhotra, Brian Flynn, Mike Weaver and Sergei Gonchar will be healthy scratches in Thursday's game against Winnipeg.

Tom Gilbert will also miss the game, but in his case he will be out because of injury. If Gonchar ever gets back into Montreal's lineup, he could have some value in deeper fantasy leagues but Malhotra, Flynn and Weaver have no fantasy relevance.

Max Pacioretty scored a sweet short-handed goal for his 37th tally of the season, however it wasn't enough as Montreal fell to Tampa Bay 5-3 on Monday night.

Pacioretty went old-school, pulling a page from Brett Hull's playbook as he took a long-range one-timer against the grain while down on one knee. Go find a highlight, it was special. Pacioretty continues to lead the team in goals and points, with 66 this season.

It's the first time in Galchenyuk's career that he reaches the 20-goal mark. This was also Galchenyuk's first goal in 12 games (last scored on March 4th). The 21-year-old has gone through a little bit of a slump recently but he still has a respectable 43 points in 74 games this season.

Flynn missed 12 days with the injury. He played 14:45 on Saturday and was a plus-one. The winger has five goals and 17 points this. He was traded from Buffalo at the deadline but is only a depth player at this stage of his career.

Forward Michael Bournival scored two goals as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Devils 4-2 in New Jersey Friday night.

They were Bournival's first two goals of the season. He's been used sparingly this season. Montreal also got goals Friday from Max Pacioretty on a power play and Tomas Plekanec into an empty net. P.K. Subban had three assists and now has 18 on the season.

Although the Canadiens have often used Tomas Plekanec and David Desharnais interchangably on their top two lines, Brendan Gallagher and Max Paciorrety have consistently skated together until recently.

The Habs split Gallagher and Pacioretty up recently and now ice the following units: Pacioretty, Desharnais and P.A. Parenteau as the top line with Plekanec between Gallagher and Alex Galchenyuk on the second unit. It seems to be working so adjust your lineup accordingly.

He had a hand in goals by Alexei Emelin and Jacob De La Rose in the match. The fourth-liner made the most of his 8:45 of ice time. Prust ranks fifth in the league with 128 penalty minutes in 71 games. He also has 16 points and 104 hits.

Forwards Devante Smith-Pelly and Manny Malhotra will be listed as healthy scratches Monday when the Canadiens host the Lightning.

Smith-Pelly will be scratched for a second consecutive game Monday night. Since being traded by Anaheim, he has not been able to get his game up to speed in the Eastern Conference, chipping in with just one assist in 15 games with Montreal. Malhotra will sit for a fourth straight game and has played in 57 games this season, picking up a goal and three assists.

PK Subban drilled his 14th goal of the season in Monday's 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

It was a beauty of a goal, too. Slamming home a bomb from the point on the power play. The goal was Subban's seventh with the man advantage of the season, raising his power play points total to 19. He now has 54 points this season, a new career high.

The award goes to the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." He skated in just 65 games in three seasons from 2009 to 2012, but he's been much healthier for the past few years. Markov played all 48 games during the lockout-shortened season and he suited up in 81 contests in 2013-14. The 36-year-old blueliner has all 76 games under his belt this campaign. He has produced nine goals, 44 points, 165 blocks and a plus-20 rating during that time.

Jeff Petry recorded his first goal as a Canadien on Monday night, however it wasn't enough as Montreal fell to Tampa Bay 5-3.

It was a pretty goal too as he zipped one through a crowd. Petry also recorded a minor, a hit, and a block during his 18:02 of ice time. He now has two points in 14 games with Montreal, and 17 points in 73 combined games with Edmonton and now Montreal.

Gonchar hasn’t played in a game since March 12 and has one goal and 12 assists in 47 games played this season. Weaver has played in just one game since February 16th and has no goals and four assists in 31 games overall this season. Neither defenseman should be rostered in fantasy leagues.

Alexei Emelin scored his third goal of the year in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Florida.

He was playing in his second game since returning from a shoulder injury. Emelin was seen icing his shoulder, so it still appears to be causing some discomfort. He was also credited with four hits and two blocks versus the Panthers.

Nathan Beaulieu (flu) will be sidelined for Monday's game versus Tampa Bay.

The 22-year-old defensemen will be held out of the lineup Monday night due to flu-like symptoms. With Emelin returning to the lineup, either Sergei Gonchar or Greg Pateryn will dress in place of Beaulieu. The former first round pick has a goal and six assists in 54 games played this season.

Greg Pateryn will be scratched against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

Pateryn has played just 11 career NHL games, eight this season, and has recorded no points, four penalty minutes, seven blocks, and 23 hits. Not much fantasy value there for the 24 year old defender. However he has accumulated 18 goals, 49 points, and 123 PIMs in 121 games for AHL Hamilton since 2012.

Carey Price was left out to dry as he was only able to make 39 saves in Monday's 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay.

Price did all he could, but his defense was unable to keep the Lightning's attack at bay. To wit, a trio of goals was scored on Price when it was just him and the shooter. The loss drops his record to 41-16-5 with a .936 save percentage and a 1.92 GAA this season.